Periodontal disease

What is periodontal disease?

Periodontal diseases are infectious diseases caused by bacteria that destroy the tissues surrounding the tooth: the periodontal ligament, bone and gums.

Periodontal diseases can be mainly classified into two groups: gingivitis and periodontitis. Gingivitis is a reversible inflammation of the gums. Periodontitis not only involves inflammation of the gums but also causes bone resorption, and is therefore considered irreversible. This bone loss creates spaces beneath the gums commonly called periodontal pockets. Periodontal pockets allow more bacteria to adhere to the tooth structure, further jeopardising tooth support. This process can ultimately lead to tooth loss.

Signs and symptoms

Spontaneous bleeding
Tooth mobility
Gingival recession
Sensitive and swollen gums

Bad breath
Increased tooth sensitivity
Increased space between teeth
Teeth moving or changing position

What causes periodontal disease?

Periodontal disease is caused by bacteria. The space between the tooth and the gum is colonised by bacteria that form what we call plaque or biofilm. In the presence of plaque, the gum reacts and gingivitis appears. If more bacteria accumulate, calculus (tartar) forms and allows more aggressive bacterial invasion.

This progression eventually causes periodontitis and bone resorption. There are certain risk factors for periodontal disease such as genetics, systemic diseases like diabetes mellitus or cardiovascular disease, smoking, immunodeficiencies, stress, etc.

How is periodontal disease treated?

Gingivitis treatment begins with eliminating bacteria through a professional prophylaxis performed by a hygienist or dentist. It is essential to spend time teaching effective oral hygiene at home so that patients know the correct technique and have the appropriate tools.

Periodontitis treatment starts with scaling and root planing (SRP). This procedure can be performed under local anaesthesia and removes all calculus deposits from the root surface. If the periodontal disease is severe and residual pockets remain after SRP, a surgical procedure is recommended to access all root surfaces, debride them and reduce the remaining pockets.

How can I prevent periodontal disease?

Prevention of gingivitis and periodontitis is a top priority at the clinic. We believe the best treatment is prevention. Consequently, we instruct our patients in proper home oral hygiene. Regular maintenance—at least once a year, and often more frequently for at-risk patients—is key to preventing these diseases. At the clinic we will help you reduce all risk factors that contribute to the disease.

What is periodontal maintenance?

Once periodontal disease is under control and periodontal pockets have been reduced, patients are placed in a maintenance program. Periodontally compromised patients typically come in for maintenance every 3–4 months.

During a maintenance visit we update clinical and radiographic information as needed, carefully clean all tooth surfaces and continue to instruct patients on oral care. These maintenance visits are essential to avoid recurrence of the disease.

Any questions? We will solve them

We are located in Terrassa.